The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1887-10-01
1HE IDEAL BOILER.
An Invention That Must Revolutionise
iIic l,osk nj Mafar- P0Mar.

| An Invention That Must Revolutionixe
| the Cost Of Motor Power.
/ An invention is announced which, il
the accounts given Of 1t are free from
any very gross exaggeration. must
work revolution In the applicability
and in the cost OF mechanical motor
power. The inventor AYERS that he can
reduce the ordinary demand for boiler
space by no less than 96 per cent!
The method proposed is the substitution
Of small copper boiler for the largo
iron boilers now in use. A cylinder OF
copper. of fifteen inches in diameter
and twenty inches long, has hemi-
spherical end. in which are placed
loose pieces of broken copper. AT tho
opposite end of the vessel two pipes arc
introduced--on to lead in the water,
and the other to lead out tho steam.
Through the first pipe the water is
forced so rs to spread in q fine spray
over the broken copper, which. 1t is
said, Immediately converts it into
steam.
The chief consideration which would
lead any practical man to make inquiry
into the inventors claims is this: the
conductivity of copper is usually high,
being more than six times that of iron.
If it be possible--which we are not in q
position to deny--to make more eff
cient use of this property Of the metal
than has hitherto been done. areduction
of bulk might no doubt be effected. On
the other hand, no such difference has
been usually attributed to the calorific
power of copper and of iron tubes in
the boiler of the locomotive; and, whilo
copper kettles and saucepans are the
pride of the housekeeper, we should bo
disposed to say that water in tin
kettle boils faster than in copper one.
These, however, are mere reflections on
the first account of the matter, leading
to the conclusion that the claim mado
is neither ;pso tacto absurd, nor, on tho
other hand, extremely probable. An
other consideration is. that if copper
can thus drive iron from tho field, it
may in its turn be dispossessed by
silver. Taking the heat-conducting
power OF silver at 1000. that OF copper
is 1856, and that of iron 119. lead being
as low as S5. If skiold efficiency is
thus attributable to the thermic con-
ductivity of copper, allowing the engi-
neer to reduce the area Of the copper
boiler (aided by that Of the loose
pieces of copper) to sixth OF
that of an iron boiler, by the use Of
silver instead of copper. the gain may
become ninefold instead of skiold. 1t
is not, however. by speculation
but by exhaustive experiment, that the
new claim is to be tested. An enor-
nous stimulus would lie given to tho
mechanical use of steam as q motor
power, if the most cumbrous part OF
the machinery could be reduced in any
thing like the above-indicated ratio.
The inventor is said to claim an econ
omy of So per cent. in fuel. The mar
gin between the theoretic power to be
obtained from the combustion Of q
given weight Of carbon and the eff
cheney of even the best compound en-
gines is such rs to allow of much
greater gain to the consumer than 55
per cent. But the gain in the cost, size
and weight of the boilers. could it be
established, would be Of far more inn
portance than the ccoromy per horse
power of the force produced. The ap-
'plication of steam-power to locomotion
| is now limited by the size and weight
of the boiler. Efforts so to reduce this
part of the machinery as to render the
cost of its carriage q less absorbing
item in the whole cost of transport OF
freight or passengers have been con-
slant for half century. But advance
has been made, not in the way of di-
minishing the weight and power of tho
machine, but of increasing the volume
and weight of the load. If the account
we have quoted be only half true. we
may expect tho evolution OF a swarm
of steam tricycles. For those machines
a silver boiler heated by petroleum may
be suggested; or, rather, cylinder OF
aluminium bronze, OH account OF its
enormous tensile strength, with con-
ducting-plates of silver.-St. James Ga
xette.